>From another list. I'll add that having lived in Portland I can vouch for the fact that Skamania County is very lightly populated. Dana Who is Bob Williams, and why is he on TV talking about Hurricane Katrina?
On September 6 and 7, numerous national media outlets featured G. Robert "Bob" Williams, president of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, falsely criticizing Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin -- both Democrats -- for their handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. But none of these media outlets disclosed that the Evergreen Freedom Foundation is a conservative think tank that espouses "limited, accountable government" and receives funding from numerous conservative donors. Nor did they make clear how Williams, who was a Washington state legislator during the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, is qualified to comment on hurricane disaster relief efforts. Williams's media tour appears to have been launched by a September 6 Wall Street Journal < http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110007219 >op-ed. He also was featured on the September 6 editions of CNN's < http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0509/06/ldt.01.html >Lou Dobbs Tonight, ABC's < http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/HurricaneKatrina/story?id=1102467&page=1 >World News Tonight, and Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, as well as the September 7 edition of MSNBC's Connected: Coast to Coast. On his guest appearances on The O'Reilly Factor and Connected: Coast to Coast, Williams claimed that Blanco was largely to blame for the slow government response to Katrina's devastation, because "the feds can't come in" to provide disaster relief unless requested by the governor. This is false; in fact, the Department of Homeland Security's < http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/NRP_FullText.pdf >National Response Plan clearly states that the federal government may take a "proactive" response to a catastrophe and bypass state requests for aid. Normally, it is a governor's responsibility to request federal aid in the event of an emergency. But under a "proactive" response, "[s]tandard procedures regarding requests for assistance may be expedited or, under extreme circumstances, suspended in the immediate aftermath of an event of catastrophic magnitude." Moreover, Blanco requested federal aid three days before Katrina made landfall in Louisiana. The New Orleans Times-Picayune < http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_Times-Picayune/archives/2005_08.html#074515 >reprinted Blanco's August 27 request to Bush to declare a state of emergency in Louisiana and to provide "supplementary Federal assistance." Further, the White House had already authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assist with the hurricane emergency. According to an August 26 White House <http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html >statement, FEMA was authorized "to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency." In his Journal op-ed and his appearances on The O'Reilly Factor and Connected, Williams claimed that, "sadly, it apparently took a personal call from the president to urge the governor to order the mandatory evacuation." But news reports <http://mediamatters.org/items/itembody/200509060011>indicate that Bush -- in an effort to ensure such a precaution was being taken --called Blanco "shortly before" the press conference at which the evacuation was announced -- casting doubt on Williams's claim that Bush's phone call precipitated the announcement. Lou Dobbs Tonight and World News Tonight featured brief videotaped segments of Williams criticizing New Orleans' evacuation plans. None of these media outlets noted that the <http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.effwa.org/main/page.php>Evergreen Freedom Foundation, which purports to "advance individual liberty, free enterprise and limited, accountable government," is a conservative group that < http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.mediatransparency.org/recipientgrants.php?recipientID=106 >receives funding from conservative grant-making organizations such as the < http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.mediatransparency.org/funderprofile.php?funderID=3 >Scaife Foundations and the < http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.mediatransparency.org/funderprofile.php?funderID=1 >Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation. Nor did they make clear exactly how Williams is qualified to comment on hurricane disaster relief. According to the Evergreen Freedom Foundation <http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.effwa.org/main/page.php?number=22 >website: "Our primary research areas are budget and taxes, education, health care, welfare, and citizenship and governance." Williams's < http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.effwa.org/main/staff_details.php?author_id=4 >biography on the site states that he "is known as a budget and tax expert in the state and is frequently consulted for advice on fiscal and tax policies." ABC News correspondent Dan Harris noted that Williams "dealt with emergency response issues after the eruption of Mount St. Helens," while Fox News identified Williams as a "Frmr. State Legislator in Mt. St. Helens Area." But the < http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/mshnvm/>Mount St. Helens eruption (which occurred 25 years ago) and Hurricane Katrina are notably dissimilar -- specifically in their respective impacts and the amount of warning and preparation time preceding them. The eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980, killed 57 people and was < http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/05/18/mt.st.helens.02/st.helen.timeline/ >foreshadowed by two months of unusual seismic activity and an emergency declaration on March 31. According to < http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.census.gov/popest/archives/1980s/e8089co.xls >census figures, Skamania County, where the volcano is located, had a population of 7,919 in 1980.<http://mediamatters.org/items/200509070003#correction>* By contrast, Blanco declared a state of emergency on August 26, noting that "Hurricane Katrina poses an imminent threat to the state of Louisiana." That same day, the National Weather Service < http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2005/prb/al122005.prblty.015.shtml >predicted that there was a 17 percent chance Katrina would strike New Orleans by August 29. According to the most recent < http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2004-01.csv >census figures, New Orleans' population in July 2004 was 462,269. S.S.M. On 9/7/05, Robert Munn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110007219 > > Blame Amid the Tragedy > Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin failed their constituents. > > BY BOB WILLIAMS > Wednesday, September 7, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT > > As the devastation of Hurricane Katrina continues to shock and sadden the > nation, the question on many lips is, Who is to blame for the inadequate > response? > > As a former state legislator who represented the legislative district most > impacted by the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, I can fully understand > and empathize with the people and public officials over the loss of life and > property. > > Many in the media are turning their eyes toward the federal government, > rather than considering the culpability of city and state officials. I am > fully aware of the challenges of having a quick and responsive emergency > response to a major disaster. And there is definitely a time for > accountability; but what isn't fair is to dump on the federal officials and > avoid those most responsible--local and state officials who failed to do > their job as the first responders. The plain fact is, lives were needlessly > lost in New Orleans due to the failure of Louisiana's governor, Kathleen > Blanco, and the city's mayor, Ray Nagin. > > The primary responsibility for dealing with emergencies does not belong to > the federal government. It belongs to local and state officials who are > charged by law with the management of the crucial first response to > disasters. First response should be carried out by local and state emergency > personnel under the supervision of the state governor and his emergency > operations center. > > The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national > disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established > evacuation plans of the state and city. Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin cannot > claim that they were surprised by the extent of the damage and the need to > evacuate so many people. Detailed written plans were already in place to > evacuate more than a million people. The plans projected that 300,000 people > would need transportation in the event of a hurricane like Katrina. If the > plans had been implemented, thousands of lives would likely have been saved. > > In addition to the plans, local, state and federal officials held a > simulated hurricane drill 13 months ago, in which widespread flooding > supposedly trapped 300,000 people inside New Orleans. The exercise simulated > the evacuation of more than a million residents. The problems identified in > the simulation apparently were not solved. > > A year ago, as Hurricane Ivan approached, New Orleans ordered an > evacuation but did not use city or school buses to help people evacuate. As > a result many of the poorest citizens were unable to evacuate. Fortunately, > the hurricane changed course and did not hit New Orleans, but both Gov. > Blanco and Mayor Nagin acknowledged the need for a better evacuation plan. > Again, they did not take corrective actions. In 1998, during a threat by > Hurricane George, 14,000 people were sent to the Superdome and theft and > vandalism were rampant due to inadequate security. Again, these problems > were not corrected. > > The New Orleans contingency plan is still, as of this writing, on the > city's Web site, and states: "The safe evacuation of threatened populations > is one of the principle [sic] reasons for developing a Comprehensive > Emergency Management Plan." But the plan was apparently ignored. > > Mayor Nagin was responsible for giving the order for mandatory evacuation > and supervising the actual evacuation: His Office of Emergency Preparedness > (not the federal government) must coordinate with the state on elements of > evacuation and assist in directing the transportation of evacuees to staging > areas. Mayor Nagin had to be encouraged by the governor to contact the > National Hurricane Center before he finally, belatedly, issued the order for > mandatory evacuation. And sadly, it apparently took a personal call from the > president to urge the governor to order the mandatory evacuation. > > The city's evacuation plan states: "The city of New Orleans will utilize > all available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas." > But even though the city has enough school and transit buses to evacuate > 12,000 citizens per fleet run, the mayor did not use them. To compound the > problem, the buses were not moved to high ground and were flooded. The plan > also states that "special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons > unable to transport themselves or who require specific lifesaving > assistance. Additional personnel will be recruited to assist in evacuation > procedures as needed." This was not done. > > The evacuation plan warned that "if an evacuation order is issued without > the mechanisms needed to disseminate the information to the affected > persons, then we face the possibility of having large numbers of people > either stranded and left to the mercy of a storm, or left in an area > impacted by toxic materials." That is precisely what happened because of the > mayor's failure. > > Instead of evacuating the people, the mayor ordered the refugees to the > Superdome and Convention Center without adequate security and no provisions > for food, water and sanitary conditions. As a result people died, and there > was even rape committed, in these facilities. Mayor Nagin failed in his > responsibility to provide public safety and to manage the orderly evacuation > of the citizens of New Orleans. Now he wants to blame Gov. Blanco and the > Federal Emergency Management Agency. In an emergency the first requirement > is for the city's emergency center to be linked to the state emergency > operations center. This was not done. > > The federal government does not have the authority to intervene in a state > emergency without the request of a governor. President Bush declared an > emergency prior to Katrina hitting New Orleans, so the only action needed > for federal assistance was for Gov. Blanco to request the specific type of > assistance she needed. She failed to send a timely request for specific aid. > > In addition, unlike the governors of New York, Oklahoma and California in > past disasters, Gov. Blanco failed to take charge of the situation and > ensure that the state emergency operation facility was in constant contact > with Mayor Nagin and FEMA. It is likely that thousands of people died > because of the failure of Gov. Blanco to implement the state plan, which > mentions the possible need to evacuate up to one million people. The plan > clearly gives the governor the authority for declaring an emergency, sending > in state resources to the disaster area and requesting necessary federal > assistance. > > State legislators and governors nationwide need to update their > contingency plans and the operation procedures for state emergency centers. > Hurricane Katrina had been forecast for days, but that will not always be > the case with a disaster (think of terrorist attacks). It must be made clear > that the governor and locally elected officials are in charge of the "first > response." > > I am not attempting to excuse some of the delays in FEMA's response. > Congress and the president need to take corrective action there, also. > However, if citizens expect FEMA to be a first responder to terrorist > attacks or other local emergencies (earthquakes, forest fires, volcanoes), > they will be disappointed. The federal government's role is to offer aid > upon request. > > The Louisiana Legislature should conduct an immediate investigation into > the failures of state and local officials to implement the written emergency > plans. The tragedy is not over, and real leadership in the state and local > government are essential in the months to come. More importantly, the > hurricane season is still upon us, and local and state officials must stay > focused on the jobs for which they were elected--and not on the deadly game > of passing the emergency buck. > > Mr. Williams is president of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a free > market public policy research organization in Olympia, Wash. > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Discover CFTicket - The leading ColdFusion Help Desk and Trouble Ticket application http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=48 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:173735 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
